


Two Weeks in the Sun

by Alice_h



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beach Holidays, Disaster Gays, Dorks in Love, F/F, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:53:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23432710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_h/pseuds/Alice_h
Summary: Brightmoon: a coastal town known for its incredible beaches, and the perfect place for Catra to take a two-week vacation to get away from a nasty breakup back home. All she wants is to spend the whole time topping up her tan on the beach - at least until a stunning blonde girl drops an ice cream on her. Would a holiday romance really be the worst thing in the world?It's the summer vacation Catradora AU!
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 120
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I needed to write something light to counteract the horrible things I'm doing to Catra in my other fic (I'm sorry baby). So have some summer vacation fun! 
> 
> Figured I might as well put living in a seaside town to good use.

Brightmoon – sun, sea and sand. That was how all the tourist information portrayed the town, a large urban area on the coast, and it wasn’t wrong. It had five miles of golden sandy beaches bordering a gorgeous blue ocean, and in the height of summer, there was barely a single inch of those beaches that wasn’t covered in holidaymakers who had come to soak up the rays. Any tourists who didn’t fancy the beach had plenty to occupy them too – all the elements of a traditional seaside town still remained, with two piers stretching out towards the horizon playing host to amusement arcades, theatres and the like, as well as numerous restaurants, cinemas and shops for the less sunny days.

Brightmoon also happened to be where Catra’s aunt lived. The two of them weren’t particularly close, barely talking outside of family birthdays and Christmas time, but she needed to get away for a while from the sprawling city where she had grown up. The year had been horrible to Catra – she’d been through a horribly messy break-up that was almost entirely of her own making and it had stressed her out to the point of constantly arguing with her family, so the opportunity to leave that behind and forget about everything for a couple of weeks was too good to pass up. She remembered staying with her aunt for several childhood summers and had fond memories of the seaside town which she’d explored as a kid, so a quick phone call, a couple of hastily-purchased coach tickets and an afternoon shopping for a beach wardrobe later, Catra was on her way. And while Brightmoon had a lot more to offer than its beaches, her plan was simple – two weeks sunbathing and not thinking about _anything._

Her first morning didn’t begin quite as planned. She’d wanted to walk down to the town centre early and get a good spot on the beach – it was forecast to be hot and sunny all day, so space on the sand would rapidly become limited. Thanks to a combination of a long journey the day before and not thinking to set an alarm, however, she didn’t wake up until gone 10am. The shock she got from sleepily looking at the time on her phone spurred her into a whirlwind of activity, quickly downing a coffee and some toast before rushing back to get dressed. Not wanting to waste any more time, she threw on the first bikini that she pulled from her suitcase – a cute little red number – covering it with a white sleeveless crop top and a pair of extremely short deep-purple shorts that barely covered her backside. Ready to head out, she stuffed a beach towel, water bottle and bottle of sunblock into a carrier bag and made for the door.

The sidewalks got steadily busier the closer Catra got to the beach, with crowds full of shoppers, young families clutching buckets and spades, and hot young couples who, like Catra herself, were headed for a day in the sun. As she turned a corner, the road ahead sloped down steeply towards a sparkling blue sea – her first glimpse of the coastline made it feel like she was now properly on holiday. The weather was already scorching, with the light sea breeze doing little to counter the effect of the unimpeded sun. Catra had heard talk that today could break some temperature records, and given the way her minimal clothing was already making her feel overdressed for the weather, she could quite believe it.

Arriving at the bottom of the hill, Catra hit the throngs who were milling about on the promenade – surfers carrying their boards, dog walkers, children queuing for ice creams… there were hundreds of people obstructing her path to the sand. While a big part of her wanted to shove her way through, swearing at everyone loudly to get out of her way, she didn’t particularly fancy the dirty looks it would get her, so she plastered a fake smile over her face, meekly excusing herself and nipping through small spaces until she reached the beach.

It was as perfect as she remembered it. The warm sand slipping through the gaps between her toes, the crash of waves onto the shoreline matched for volume only by the excited screams of kids playing with inflatable toys on the water, the faint smell of fish and chips from the nearby restaurant… if she had to spend the rest of her life here, she could live with that. Finding a large enough gap in the mass of beachgoers, Catra spread her towel flat on the sand and paused to take her top and shorts off. She knew people would be looking as she covered herself in sunblock – being blessed with a slim, toned body had its advantages, especially when she was in a very revealing bikini – but that wasn’t a bother to her. In all honesty, she quite liked the attention.

The sun’s warmth kissed every inch of her body as she laid herself back and closed her eyes. This was true relaxation – she could put the stresses of home and the last few months behind her. No painful breakup, no work pressure, no tripping over the rest of her family in their tiny flat and having shouting matches; just the heat of an endless summer’s day and the sounds of people around her. Catra quite enjoyed tuning in to the snippets of conversations of passers-by, it was oddly fun to try and imagine what was going on in their lives.

“Don’t tell me you forgot the sunblock!”

“Hey, is this _your_ towel?”

“Why don’t you go and play in the sea with your brother?”

“All I’m saying, Glimmer, is that they had thirty flavours of ice cream and you went with vanilla.”

“I like vanilla. What did you get?”

“Raspberry rip- oh shit…”

Though Catra would usually have spent a minute or so working out what had interrupted the girl who was talking right next to her, she didn’t get the chance this time. A sudden impact and unexpectedly cold feeling on her chest made her shoot upright, swearing loudly at the shock. She glanced down to see a scoop of ice cream sliding down her body onto the towel below, then back upward to give this idiot a piece of her mind. What was wrong with this clumsy bi-

_Oh fuck. She’s hot._

Catra's eyes must have looked like they were trying to burst out of her head as she stared at the stranger in front of her. Golden blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, gorgeous cheekbones and a perfect face sat atop a tall, muscular body that had only a loose tank-top and skin-tight shorts covering it. Even below the waist, her powerful-looking thighs and stunning calves communicated that she was incredibly fit and strong. This girl could easily have picked her up and run off, carrying her bridal-style, and Catra would gladly have let her.

_No, come on Catra. This is the absolute worst time to develop a crush, pull yourself together. But she is stunning..._

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” the blonde’s face was wracked with guilt, and she turned to the much shorter girl beside her, “Go get some tissues or something, Glimmer.”

“On it!”

She ran off, leaving the attractive stranger alone with Catra, who, despite her internal protests, still found herself entirely unable to speak. Happily, the blonde’s apologetic waffling masked her ineptitude.

“My fault entirely, I was waving it around to show my friend and I must have…” she gestured to the smear of ice cream that ran from Catra’s chest down to her waist, “Are you… are you OK?”

“HI, I’M CATRA!” she spoke entirely too loud and too quickly. If any part of her brain was thinking about something other than the girl in front of her, she might have been embarrassed by it, but Catra had no idea what she was saying at this point.

The awkward silence that her unprompted shouting created was thankfully brought to an end when the girl’s friend returned, clutching a handful of paper napkins, which she held out between the other two. The blonde grabbed them from her, and her hand hovered towards Catra’s chest until Glimmer slapped it away.

“Let her do it herself, Adora! You…”

The rest of the sentence went in one of Catra’s ears and out the other. Her name was Adora. Adora. She loved the way it sounded, the way every syllable felt like pure perfection. Adora. A-doooo-ra. The longer she stretched it out, the more amazing it sounded. ‘Adora’ fitted her so well, it was so-

“Hey! Earth to… whatever your name is!” Glimmer snapped her fingers in front of Catra’s face to bring her back from her thoughts, “Wipe yourself up. Unless you like having sticky tits all day, I’m not one to judge.”

A more present Catra gave a brief apologetic smile and took the tissues to clean herself, “Sorry, shock of the cold ice cream.”

“Again, I am so, so sorry,” Adora blushed guiltily, “Look, I’m going to have to get a new ice cream now anyway, so can I get you one too? I promise I won’t throw this one at you.”

She wanted to say “Yes! Yes, give me all the ice cream in the world you sexy stranger! And then take me home and do whatever you want to me!”, but all that would do would cause more trouble, right? She’d come down to Brightmoon to escape relationship drama, to have some time where she put herself first, and falling headlong into another would…

_‘Another relationship?’ Talk about getting ahead of yourself, Catra. You’ve spent three minutes staring at her and you’re calling it the beginning of a relationship? Jeez, it’s a random crush on a stranger, are you really that desperate?_

“No, it’s fine. I’m just gonna get back to it,” she tried to put on a colder attitude to try and move them both along without any more questions. Every second longer she had to spend around this girl would only spark more fantasies that she did not need in her life at the moment.

Adora shrugged, “Well, if you change your mind, we’re gonna be around. Glimmer and I are going for a swim. Enjoy the beach, Catra!”

As the two young women made their way towards the water, Catra couldn’t help herself but stare once again at the tall blonde, her eyes unable to help themselves from lowering to her ass. The fact that she’d almost forgotten having ice cream dropped on her two minutes before spoke volumes for the impression the girl had made in that short time, and the image of Adora’s body was going to take some effort to shift from her mind. She knew, even hoped, not to expect anything, yet so much of her wanted everything. Sure, she may not ever see this girl again, but she’d be lying if she said that she was okay with that.

 _Maybe these two weeks really will_ _help me forget everything back home._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her encounter with Adora on the first day of her holiday, Catra can't get the girl off her mind. But it would appear she doesn't need to...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of exposition/back story for this chapter (but that's as angsty as it gets, fear not), but they are both utter disasters and i love them.

Thoughts of Adora were very much at the forefront of Catra’s mind on the second day of her holiday. She’d not seen her again the day before, and though part of her was quite thankful, she felt some disappointment too. Meeting Adora had sparked off so many thoughts – fantasies, even – and it hadn’t been easy to rein them in. Thankfully, the overwhelming feelings that had rendered her almost unable to speak to the girl yesterday had dampened down to a level where she could think more clearly. It wasn’t the right time, she reasoned, it was just a short holiday and she certainly shouldn’t be having these ideas so soon after Scorpia.

Her relationship with her now-ex-girlfriend had been going really well up until the early part of the year, but so much had happened in the last few months – and all of it was Catra’s fault. She wasn’t entirely sure how it happened, but a combination of things, particularly her job, had overwhelmed her with stress, and Scorpia had been on the receiving end of a couple of meltdowns. They’d made up, of course, but Catra’s confidence in herself and the relationship had slipped, and she became convinced that she was going to get dumped – so she did the least sensible thing she could and slept with someone else. Even now, she wasn’t sure why she’d done something that stupid, but it was an awful thing to do to someone who didn’t deserve it. Scorpia deserved better, and this Adora girl probably did too.

Her day started off in a much more organised way than the previous one, Catra getting up early this time and having her beach towel on the sand even before 9am. Once again, it was already a warm morning, the rich blue of the sky unsullied by a single cloud, and Catra got herself comfortably installed for a day of relaxation. Laying on her back, eyes closed underneath her sunglasses, she listened to the world around her as the number of excited conversations grew over the next hour and the beach quickly became packed with crowds.

“Fancy seeing you here,” a familiar voice from beside her made her perk her ears, and Catra could not stop the smile that grew across her face when she realised who it was. Despite the very brief encounter the day before, the unforgettable sound of Adora’s voice was already imprinted in her brain.

“Adora,” she almost didn’t want to look at the girl, knowing that seeing that body again would dissolve her into a spluttering mess, “You here to get cream all over me again?”

“Uh-”

“ICE CREAM! I meant ice cream,” Catra bolted upright, her cheeks becoming bright red with embarrassment. She opened her eyes to find Adora slathering herself with sunblock, knelt on a towel beside her in a blue spotted bikini that looked a couple of sizes too small, leaving little to Catra’s overactive imagination. It took an extraordinary amount of effort to keep her gaze on the blonde’s face, so great was the temptation of all that skin on display below.

“Um, no. I’m not going to cover you in any type of cream. I just came to sunbathe, and I saw you and thought ‘hey, it’s Catherine, I should go say hi’.”

_Ouch, she forgot my name. But honestly, when she looks like that, she can call me whatever she wants, and I’ll answer to it._

“Catra,” she corrected, almost ashamed that her name wasn’t _actually_ Catherine, “But sure, I don’t mind the company. Your girlfriend not here today?”

Adora giggled, “You mean Glimmer? Nah, she’s not my girlfriend, I don’t have one at the moment. No, Glimmer’s just my housemate, and she’s working today anyway.”

She almost wished Adora hadn’t said that. It would all be so much easier if she was in a relationship, that way the decision on what to do about her would have already been made. There were lines Catra wouldn’t cross – at least not now – and stealing someone else’s girlfriend was one of them. But knowing that Adora was single only intensified the desire she had; this was something within her grasp, and it was only some vague sense of responsibility that was stopping her. Some idea that she should deny herself a little bit of happiness because it was so soon after the break-up, or that only being in town for a couple of weeks meant that she should stay lonely that whole time. Wasn’t she entitled to have a bit of fun, no matter how fleeting it would be?

_Screw it. I want her._

“Then I guess it’s just us, Adora,” she drawled, as seductively as she dared. She didn’t want to put her off by coming on too strongly, but she had to give the girl a hint of what she was thinking, and with them both laid on their backs to catch the sun, she couldn’t rely on any visual cues. No flirty winks or saccharine-sweet smiles just yet, she only had her personality and voice to start winning her over with.

“Well, no, there’s a couple of hundred other people here,” the blonde replied earnestly. Catra was about to laugh before realising that she was deadly serious and that her attempt at flirting had flown right over Adora’s head. Wow, this girl was clueless.

“So, you on vacation too?”

“Oh, no, no,” Adora waved her hand in the air dismissively, “I live here. My parents have a house out in the countryside, but I wanted to be somewhere busier, I love being around people. Brightmoon’s a wonderful town, so much to do, and I can go to the beach whenever I want – gotta soak up that sun, right?”

Catra couldn’t help but laugh; Adora didn’t exactly have the appearance of being a sunseeker, or if she was, she was an incompetent one. Her arms may have had a hint of a tan, but her legs and stomach were paper-white, “Yeah, you don’t look like you’ve seen a lot of sun. I saw how pasty white your legs are.”

“You were looking at my legs?”

_Shit, busted. But hell yeah, I was looking at your legs, have you_ seen _them? You could probably crush a watermelon between those thighs… Dammit, Catra, focus!_

“It’s fine,” Adora continued on, thankfully without waiting for any answer, “I’m a bit of a surfer, so I’m usually in a wetsuit – not exactly great for getting a tan. You ever surf?”

“Where? My house is, like, two hours from the nearest beach.”

“Oh, so you’re not from around here?”

Catra yawned, stretching her arms up high above her and appreciating the momentary amount of shade on her face they provided, “Nope, came down to stay with my aunt for a couple of weeks. I was just gonna spend it all on the beach, but I guess if someone wanted to show me all around the town, I’d be up for that too.”

She took advantage of Adora not being able to see her to cross the fingers on her right hand, hoping that it would somehow increase the chances of her agreement. It was hard to imagine how she could have made the invitation any clearer, though given how oblivious the blonde seemed to be that she liked her, the reply was almost as expected.

“I think there’s a tour company that’s pretty good, I’ve-”

Evidently, hinting and insinuation weren’t getting Catra anywhere, and a change of tack was required. She cut Adora off mid-sentence, sitting upright and staring daggers at the girl laid next to her, “I’m asking if _you_ would show me around, dummy!”

“Oh… Ohhh!” Adora’s face was a picture of confusion for several seconds as she caught up, “Of course I will. Um, in fact, I’ve got an idea, come on.”

She didn’t waste any time in jumping to her feet, quickly gathering her belongings in an unruly mess between her arms and starting to trudge over the sand before Catra could even stand up. The brunette scrabbled to stand, hastily stuffing her towel back into the bag she brought with her and carefully avoiding other beachgoers as she hurried to catch up with Adora. When she reached the promenade, which was only marginally less busy than the beach itself, she broke into a short sprint to pull alongside the blonde.

“Don’t wait for me or anything!” Catra gave a small chuckle to show that her sarcasm wasn’t a sign of actual anger, “You’re so fast.”

“No time to waste!”

They came to a halt outside a small blue and white wooden hut. The blonde rummaged around in the stuff she was holding, eventually pulling out a set of keys on a rainbow lanyard and awkwardly using her only free hand to find a particular key. She inserted it into the padlock that held down a panel that doubled as a shutter and, once Adora had raised it up, a small canopy over the decking they stood on. The hut itself was mostly filled with beach equipment – the traditional bucket and spade sat in one corner, although it appeared neither had been used for a long time, along with a couple of surfboards and some deflated pool toys. There was also a tiny counter that served as a kitchen, with some of the smallest cupboards Catra had ever seen underneath and a portable gas stove perched on top.

Catra was genuinely impressed by the little cabin, despite that fact that it had obviously seen better days. The paint on the outside was peeling, the windows dusty and cobwebs covered junk in the corners that appeared not to have been used for years. Even so, it was extraordinary to her, an inner-city girl, that people here had anything like this, “Wow, this is so cool… You have your own beach hut?”

“It’s my parents’ but they don’t often come down, so they gave me the keys. Mostly just use it for storing stuff though,” Adora dumped everything she was carrying into a pile on the floor, then picked the towel up and wrapped it around herself, “Just gonna change into something a bit more appropriate.”

_No, no! I liked this level of appropriate!_

One of Adora’s hands tightly gripped the towel to hold it together and protect her modesty, while the other fumbled underneath to remove what she was wearing. Catra forced herself to stare in the opposite direction, fixing her focus towards the horizon to try and distract herself from the fact that she was stood next to an incredibly hot girl who was very likely naked underneath that towel.

“So, what’s the plan?” she prayed that Adora didn’t notice the nervousness in her voice.

“Well, I figured you wanted to see the town, so I thought- whoa, shit…”

Worried that something had gone wrong – or worse, that she’d unknowingly overstepped a boundary – Catra turned around just in time to see Adora’s balance finally give way, the girl tumbling unceremoniously forward. She landed on a couple of folded-up deckchairs, which looked to be rather painful, and Catra grew very worried during the two seconds of silence that preceded Adora’s uncontrollable laughter. Once certain that the other girl was okay, Catra joined in too, and both the young women dissolved into fits of giggles – quite why Adora’s clumsiness was that funny, neither could say. Nor could either of them stop for several minutes; tears were streaming down Catra’s face, and her jaw was beginning to ache from laughing.

“That was… embarrassing,” Adora just managed to get the words out, making a snorting noise in her attempt to keep her face straight, “Still sure you want me to show you around?”

_Oh, Adora, you charming goof. If anything, this just makes me want you more._

“Yeah,” Catra took a deep breath, “Show me everything.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora takes Catra on a little tour around the town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, my motivation to write has severely dropped off over the last week. But hey, it's done!

“Ta-da!”

“It’s a bus,” Catra pointed out the obvious as Adora gestured towards a blue open-top bus with stylised pictures of the beach emblazoned over the side. She couldn’t help but laugh at the girl’s proud grin – this was somewhat more anticlimactic than she had imagined. Adora been cagey ever since Catra had suggested showing her around town, and it was in equal parts irritating and beautifully mysterious. Even when they were hanging around in Adora’s beach hut getting changed, or in Catra’s case, pulling a t-shirt and shorts over her swimwear, the blonde had said little about her idea. But the wry smile she responded to every question with made Catra’s heart skip a beat; she was cute when she was being coy.

“It’s an open top bus, and it goes around the town so I can show you all the great sights of Brightmoon… there’s, like at least two.”

The brunette’s frown quickly dissipated as she envisioned the two of them touring around, the sights and sounds passing them by whilst Adora told her about the place she lived. It had been so long since Catra was last in the town, and what little she had seen on this trip seemed to have changed hugely from her memories, so to have her own personal guide to Brightmoon would be perfect. She could discover the little things, the hidden corners that the tourists didn’t know about and maybe she’d even find out more about Adora herself – What did she like? Where does she spend her time? She was a mystery that Catra couldn’t wait to unravel.

Without needing to queue, they both boarded the vehicle, Adora paying and then leading Catra upstairs where she made straight for the very rear of the bus. The blonde sat herself upright in the centre of the bench, whilst Catra slouched into the corner, resting a leg across the seat. Adora giggled, stretch her arms out wide, “I feel like we’re the naughty kids at the back of the bus.”

“Ha,” scoffed Catra, “I _was_ one of the naughty kids at school, but I bet you were totally a goody two-shoes. Never late to class, never smoked behind the bike sheds, never bunked off to go watch a movie – you were a teacher’s pet, weren’t you?”

“Hey! One time I got sent out of class for talking too much.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow theatrically, “Oh my gosh, Adora, you rebel! I can’t _believe_ you would do something so utterly disgusting…”

“It was a massive thing at the time. I actually cried,” she looked just as dejected now as she probably had back then. Her gaze fell and Catra could swear Adora was about to cry again, until she broke an innocent smile, “See – I’m a rebel.”

“Babe, no.”

Adora squinted slightly towards here, “I’m ‘babe’ now, am I?”

_Oh shit, oh God, oh fuck. Why did I say that?_

The words remained hanging in the air as the bus’s departure thankfully gave the two of them something else to focus on. It swung around the small bus station to exit and head along the seafront, the impressive Bright Moon pier reaching out into the sea next to the road. From their vantage point, Catra could see just how busy the beach was, the hundreds – if not, thousands – of people creating a patchwork of colour against the pale sand. There was something comfortingly innocent about a beach holiday; maybe it was the way it evoked childhood memories, or the way everyone flocked together into the small space and became like a temporary family for one afternoon. Or maybe it was the holiday romances…

Adora picked back up where they left off, thankfully brushing aside the ‘babe’ incident, “So what did you do, then, naughty kid?”

“Ah, well, I don’t think I should tell you everything. But one thing I _did_ do was…” she reached a hand upward, pulling a leaf from a tree that hung over the road from the side opposite the beach, “I picked leaves off trees.”

Catra clambered over towards Adora, brandishing her prize, and tucked the leaf into the girl’s blonde hair, leaving it sticking out from the top like the ear of an animal. The confused look on Adora’s face remained for several seconds, moving from wondering _what_ Catra was doing to _why_ , whilst the brunette sat back and admired her handiwork with a satisfied grin.

_She’s beautiful..._

“That’s not fair!” Adora giggled, raising herself up with one leg resting on the seat, “I’m going to get my own back!”

She looked ahead at the trees lining the road, waiting for one that would hang within her reach over the path of the bus. With a look of determination, she focused on her target, slowly extending her arm towards it. Once she felt the leaf in her fingers, she had a split-second to pull it, giving it a sharp tug forward. There was more resistance than she expected, and it wasn’t the stem of the leaf which gave out first but a weak point further up the branch. Adora was left with a two-foot long section of tree in her hands and a wide-eyed expression of shock on her face. Catra stared back at her for a moment, before collapsing into a fit of laughter. Every time she peered up at the gormless expression on Adora’s face it was the height of hilarity – the look of sheer horror and regret that she was giving to the tree branch in her hand.

“What do I do, Catra?” she appeared to be genuinely panicked, holding it at arm’s length like it was a bug she was afraid of, “What do I do?!”

Still giggling, Catra just about managed to keep a straight face for long enough to advise her, “Chuck it over the side.”

“But what if I hit someone?”

“Fine, give it here,” Catra reached across and grabbed the branch from Adora’s hand, then stood up, holding it over the back of the bus.

The blonde scrabbled across to try and pull her arm back in, needing to stretch herself around Catra’s body to get a grip on her upper arm, “Catra, you can’t do that! There’s a car right behind us! You could do some real damage.”

She knew this. Catra had absolutely no intention of dropping it off the back, but seeing Adora so animated and, dare she say, passionate was worth every single second of the ruse. And finally feeling Adora’s soft hands on her body, even if it was just her arm, was _everything_. When she gave in, moving her hand back inside the bus, and the girl let go of her, every part of Catra fired up with longing – she craved that touch again already.

“I’ll keep it as a pet then,” Catra’s mischievous smile managed to hide the sheer crisis she was feeling inside after having Adora's body encircling her own, “She’s called Adora Junior.”

“What?”

“You heard me. She’s yours, Adora.”

Catra couldn’t tell whether Adora was playing along or just genuinely puzzled by her flirting, but she soon snapped out of her confusion, “I thought I was supposed to be showing you around, anyway.”

“Oh yeah,” Catra had entirely forgotten about that aspect of their day. Strangely enough, flirting with Adora was far more enjoyable. She pointed at a large building that the bus was heading towards, “OK, what’s that?”

“It’s the Brightmoon Conference Centre,” Adora tucked a stray bit of hair back behind her ear, “Sounds boring, but a lot of bands play there. Been to a few gigs there, myself.”

Catra had to know what type of music the girl was into, though just by looking at her, she could make a good guess, “Oh? Who’ve you seen?”

“Uh… Metallica.”

“What?!” she snorted, unable to mask her surprise – not to mention her disbelief. Adora really did not look like the sort of person who had ever listened to the band, “OK, name _one_ of their songs.”

“The one about… um… metal,” Adora’s answer was greeted with a single raised eyebrow that piled on the pressure for her to come clean, “Alright, fine, it was S Club 7! I just wanted you to think I was cool!”

_Oh, you wanted to impress me, did you? Adora, babe, you’ve been doing that since the moment I first saw you._

“I _do_ think you’re cool. Even if you do have awful taste in music.”

Adora looked hurt, “Awww, really? Ah, never mind, I still need to give you more of the grand tour - there’s some interesting stuff coming up in a moment.”

The two of them travelled around a while longer, Catra pointing at things and asking “what’s that” whilst Adora did her best to explain, whether it was a major local attraction or just a house – Catra did her best to be flirtatiously annoying without crossing over into actually annoying. After a good half hour, the blonde announced that they were going to get off and walk back to the main Brightmoon pier along the seafront. She pressed the button to signal the driver to stop, then the two young women hurried down the stairs, Catra still clutching ‘Adora Junior’ and waving her at the driver as she disembarked.

Both young women strolled at a leisurely pace along the promenade, chatting away happily. Without the breeze that being in motion provided, as well as the unrelenting warmth of the sun, both of them began to heat up again as they walked along. it began to tire them both out, but Catra did her best to keep up her energy, noting how Adora seemed to react positively towards it.

“I had fun,” Catra risked a quick rest of her head on the blonde’s shoulders, taking it off almost as soon as she made contact, “You’re a pretty good tour guide, Adora.”

“Well, Glimmer and I are going on a road trip into the countryside tomorrow. You can come with us if you like?”

Not even the prospect of Adora’s housemate tagging along could discourage Catra from agreeing. The chance to spend a whole day around a beautiful woman in an idyllic countryside location, miles from civilisation where anything could happen, was too enticing to worry about having Sparkles or whatever her name was tagging along as a third wheel.

“Gimme your phone,” Catra held her hand out expectantly.

Adora recoiled slightly, suspicious of the girl’s motive, “Wait, what? Why?”

“Because you’re going to need my number to tell me when you’re ready to pick me up.”

She cautiously handed the phone over, "So you want to come with me?"

_DESPERATEL- I mean, uh..._

"Sure do, Adora."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora has invited Catra on a road trip, but it doesn't quite turn out as expected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to get back into the swing of writing again, which is good!

A car horn from outside her aunt’s house startled Catra. She had been expecting it, of course – Adora said she would arrive about 10am, and it was exactly that time – but the loud noise still dragged her from her fantasies of the day ahead. Her and Adora... and Adora's housemate, sadly, exploring the countryside together, seeing quaint little villages and enjoying the peace. She grabbed her bag from the chair next to her, shouting a quick goodbye to her aunt as she opened the front door and let the warm air envelop her.

“Whoa…” the bright red convertible sports car parked on the street in front of her amazed her. Almost as much as the person sitting in it – the _only_ person sitting in it, “Wait, what happened to Sparkles or whatever her name was?”

Adora sported a guilty smile, and Catra suspected that underneath the girl’s sunglasses there would have been a sparkle in her eye, “It’s Glimmer and, uh… she couldn’t make it.”

“Oh right. Nothing to do with the fact the car only has two seats and you couldn’t fit all three of us in?”

“Huh,” she looked behind her, then tilted her head as if in heavy thought, “I never noticed.”

Catra chuckled to herself. Did Adora make this whole road trip up just to get some time alone with her? Biting her lip to try and fend off the smile that the revelation had put on her face, Catra strolled confidently down the path towards what had to have been a very expensive vehicle. Adora had mentioned something about her parents having money but this was beyond what she expected. But putting aside her theories about how rich the girl was or otherwise, the open roof of the car had struck Catra with the opportunity to do something she’d always wanted to try, “Can I jump in? You know, over the door like they do in films?”

“Can I stop you?”

“Nope!” she quickened her pace as she went towards the vehicle. Adora would surely love the sight of her athleticism, sliding into the car with one swift motion like something out of an action-packed movie. Catra prepared herself for the magnificent leap, extending her right hand out to provide a pivot on top of the door, and jumped as high as she could.

_I feel like the coolest person in the wo- oh shit…_

Despite her effort, she didn’t gain the height needed to clear the door. Her shins hit the side of the car, and overbalanced her, sliding her hand off the door and leaving her flat on her back on the sidewalk. Catra’s cheeks blushed red with embarrassment as Adora clambered across and peered over the edge of the car at her.

“Oh shit, are you okay?”

Catra glanced up at the blonde’s face of genuine concern, relieved the only real damage sustained was that of her pride. She’d grazed her shoulder slightly, but worse than that, she had looked like a total prat in front of the girl she fancied. Admittedly, given past experience, Adora wasn’t exactly much better, but Catra had at least tried to carve out the impression that she was smooth and graceful. Collapsing in a heap on the sidewalk did nothing to help that image.

As Catra returned to her feet and dusted herself off, Adora opened the car door, which the brunette quietly and sheepishly used to step inside the vehicle. She remained silenced by embarrassment whilst putting her belt on and adjusting the seat to a more comfortable position, the wordless atmosphere broken only by Adora as she got the pair moving.

“Welcome aboard Swift Wind!”

“Swift what?”

“The car?” Adora gave her a look that made Catra feel like she should have understood what she was saying, “My car’s called Swift Wind, because when you go swiftly, there’s a lot of wind noise. OK, it makes a lot of other noises too, but there’s some wind there. And it has a better ring than ‘Swift Grinding from Underneath’.”

_I’ll give_ you _a swift grinding from underneath._

The double entendre of Catra’s internal monologue made her burst into laughter, but she managed to cover her tracks by pretending she was laughing at Adora’s ‘joke’. The pair drove on, chatting and laughing away with the wind blowing through their hair; through the town centre and into the well-to-do suburbs with tree-lined avenues and gated houses and finally to the edge of town. As the number of buildings around them dwindled, the speed they travelled at increased – and true to Adora’s word, there was a lot of wind noise and, slightly more worryingly, the aforementioned grating sound from somewhere around their feet. Still, it didn’t seem to bother Adora, so Catra decided not to mention it.

They picked up their pace as the route became increasingly rural. Large dual-carriageways gave way to quaint countryside roads with sporadic cottages on either side gave way to narrow, twisting hedge-lined lanes. Adora had messaged Catra the night before to tell her about the place they were going to: a small village by the name of Dryl, whose castle ruins had become a bit of a tourist attraction. What Catra had looked up online seemed rather decent – the village centre had an olde-worlde charm to it, despite being mainly gift shops and pubs, and there were plenty of fields and forests to explore just outside. Secluded, private areas where hundreds of lovers in the past must have shared nervous first kisses…

_Dammit, Catra, concentrate!_

She forced her thoughts away from kissing Adora and towards her growing concern grew at the loud, whirring sound she now had to shout over. It seemed to only have got worse throughout their journey, joined occasionally by an even louder knocking noise from directly underneath them, “This really doesn’t sound healthy.”

Adora waved a hand dismissively, “Nah, it makes that noise all the time. I was gonna ask when I take it in to the mechanic to get the magic lamp thing sorted out.”

“Magic lamp thing?” Catra leaned across to see the gauges and warning lights through the steering wheel, “You mean the oil?”

“Ohhhhh! Is that what that means? I usually just put gasoline in, is that bad?”

“Adora, oh my God…”

The noises from the engine reached a crescendo, tailing off as the car lost power for a few moments before the motor cut out entirely. Adora coasted towards the grass verge at the side of the road, bringing them to a stop safely out of the way of any passing traffic. She tried to get the car started again, but aside from the eager whine of the starter motor, there was just a pathetic coughing from the engine.

“Okay, it doesn’t usually do that.”

Catra shook her head incredulously. She hated to think how expensive it would be to fix a car like this, “Please tell me you at least have breakdown cover?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Adora leaned across her and rifled through some papers in the glovebox, eventually pulling out a small card for a breakdown service. She took her phone out and carefully copied the number into it, giving whoever was on the other end an unnecessarily detailed description of their predicament.

“So, they might be an hour or so,” she sucked her lips in apologetically as she put the phone down, “We should probably find somewhere comfortable to wait it out.”

Catra scanned the area, pointing out a small raised bank on the opposite side of the road, “There?”

The slight slope of the grass gave the two young women a reasonable place to sit while they awaited their rescue. They really were in the middle of nowhere, with hills, fields and forests the only sights in any direction. Even the road was relatively quiet, the odd car speeding past only every few minutes or so. Despite being completely stranded, the peacefulness of their surroundings had a calming effect on Catra, and she lay back against the mound of grass.

“I’m sorry, Catra,” Adora picked a few weeds from the ground around her, “I had a nice day planned out and I’ve ruined it because I never bothered to learn about looking after a car.”

The brunette stared up at the cloudless sky and sighed contentedly, “It’s fine. I mean, sure, we didn’t get to go on your magical mystery tour, but at least I get to hang out with you.”

“Pfft, I’m not fun to hang out with. I’m a disaster of a human.”

“Oh, Adora, you aren’t a disaster,” Catra placed her hand on the girl’s arm, “OK, you are, but… I like spending time with you.”

She couldn’t stifle the scoff that came from her mouth, “Really? I thought someone cool like you wouldn’t have given me the time of day.”

“Yeah, I’m not cool, Adora.”

“Sure you are! Look at you, the way you dress screams ‘modern city girl’ and you’re the nicest person I’ve talked to in a long time.”

Catra shut her eyes, her head dropping down in front of her, “I’m not nice either.”

“Why would you say that?” one of Adora’s hands gently lifted her head up and turned it towards her, “You _are_ nice.”

_I don’t want to talk about this. Not now, not with you._

Adora’s eager eyes did not yield in their quest for an answer, and she had to rapidly work out an abridged version of the shit that she had been through over the past few months. With anxiety quietening her voice, she spoke barely above a whisper, “I treated my ex-girlfriend horribly. Not… not violently or anything, because I would _never,_ but… we got into rows that were entirely my fault because I started them on purpose, and then I got drunk and cheated on her.”

“Oh.”

“Mh, so now you know the type of person I really am,” she sighed loudly, “Bet you can’t wait to get rid of me now. Shame, because I was really getting to like you.”

Catra waited for the inevitable agreement, the frosty atmosphere that would surround the silence of the rest of their day together until Adora dropped her home. She’d spoilt their trip, and most likely the rest of her holiday that she’d only taken to _get away_ from all of that crap. Absolutely typ-

“I like you too.”

Had she heard correctly? “ _Liked,_ past tense, right?”

Adora shot her the smile that made her melt every time and a hand covered one of Catra’s, “ _Like_ , present tense. You’re better than your mistakes.”

_She’s holding my hand… kinda. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, repeat, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!_

Catra looked up at the other girl, her sparkling blue eyes a world that she became lost inside, and even as she stared deep into them, she could sense Adora becoming rapt in her own. It felt as though they were both encased in a bubble, isolated from the world around them, and all Catra wanted was this moment forever.

_Is she… are we going to…? Oh God, this is it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, cliffhanger! I am probably going to focus a little on my other stories for a day or two, but i'm sure we'll find out how it goes very soon


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora's car is broken down, but Catra has something else on her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I left you all hanging for so long. I was finishing You Can Run (I'm super proud of that ending!) and I find angst and trauma much easier to write than fluff like this. I'm weird like that.

_Is she… are we going to…? Oh God, this is it._

Catra shuffled her body around to face Adora, bringing their locked eyes even closer. Tentatively and ever so slowly, she ventured closer, hoping the confidence to actually kiss her would materialise along the way. As her gaze lowered onto the girl’s lips – how soft and perfect they looked – all she could think about was tasting them. They started to part and Catra was certain it was to kiss her.

“I brought some snacks, are you hungry?” Adora abruptly stood up, looking over at the stricken car parked across from them, “I’m starting to get a bit peckish, thought we’d be having lunch by now.”

_Fucking YES I’m hungry - but not for food, dammit._

Catra rubbed her hands down her face, pressing hard on the bridge of her nose to quell her frustration. She wasn’t sure who she was annoyed at – most likely it was herself for apparently misreading the situation, “Uh, yeah, I can eat some food if you’ve got it.”

After waiting for a car to pass, Adora hurried across the road, opening the trunk of the car and removing a carrier bag that appeared to be rather full. She returned alongside Catra, spreading out what appeared to be half of the entire ‘food-to-go’ section of a supermarket, looking extremely proud of herself.

“Got enough?” Catra picked through the dozen or so sandwiches and small packets of fruit, settling on tuna mayonnaise and a little pack of grapes. Her mind was still distracted, still irritated about the moment they had shared before – or had they? Maybe Adora hadn’t been thinking the same as her, and she’d almost made a huge fool of herself.

“Well I didn’t know what you liked, so I kinda got everything.”

“Thanks,” she forced a smile and took a bite of the sandwich, unable to taste anything but the bitter disappointment that flowed from being so close to, yet so far from, kissing Adora. But the pain lessened rapidly as she ate, probably helped by the perfect weather and the peaceful environment in which their impromptu roadside picnic was taking place.

Slowly the conversation picked up again, Catra wondering whether Adora was completely oblivious to what almost happened or if, like Catra herself, she was trying to ignore the burning desire that had taken over her mind. Maybe Adora also had lost all trace of the conversation under the weight of her thoughts. Maybe Adora was also stealing surreptitious glances at her body, her face, her lips, when she wasn’t looking. Maybe Adora felt the electricity in the air as much as she did. If that was the case, she was doing a decent job at not showing it.

Ninety minutes after their trip had ended abruptly, Catra craned her neck out towards the road, having spotted a large, bright orange vehicle in the distance. Their hopes grew as it neared them, seeing that it was indeed a truck for the breakdown service Adora had called, and both young women were relieved to see it pull up behind the stricken car. A stout, slightly unkempt man in an oily fluorescent suit jumped down from the cab and called to them from across the road.

“I’m guessing this one’s yours, ladies?”

Adora hurried across the tarmac, with Catra following a few paces behind, “It’s mine, yeah. I don’t know what happened, I was driving and then it made a noise, then it just stopped.”

The man smiled, and Catra was fairly sure she saw him winking as well, “Don’t you worry love, I’ll take a look and see if we can get you up and running again. You got your keys?”

“Keys?” a brief look of confusion crept across her face before her brain caught up, “Oh yeah, sorry, keys. Here you go.”

She fished into her pocket and handed over a small bunch of keys to the mechanic, who flashed a grin before walking over to insert them into the ignition of her car and then opening the hood to look at the engine. A few minutes of grumbling and banging different parts then followed, and though Catra wasn’t entirely sure that was the best way to go around diagnosing the problem, he returned to them with a frown.

“Well, my love, it’s not looking good. Your engine’s seized – that means some of the bits inside that need to move can’t move,” he raised an eyebrow, “Looks like someone has been naughty and not topped up the oil.”

Adora glanced back towards Catra briefly, “That’s what she said as well. I didn’t even know you had to.”

“Wow, someone knows their cars!” he said in a tone that Catra wasn’t entirely sure whether it was genuine or sarcastic. She was leaning more towards the latter, “You should listen to her more, darling. Because when you don’t have oil, the little things that need to go up and down to make the car go, they can’t do their job, so it just goes poof! Broken car!”

_Oh my God, this guy. Treating Adora like a dumb blonde, it’s just… I mean, okay, she is, but he doesn’t know that. And she’s not a baby. What a dick._

Adora, however, didn’t seem to be doing much to dispel the stereotype, a wide-eyed look on her face that was equal parts wonder and confusion, “So what does it mean?”

“It means I’m gonna have to tow you to a garage. But you and your little friend can sit in my van – I’ve got the air conditioning on so it’ll be nice and cool for you. I’ll get your poor broken car connected up and we’ll have you home soon.”

The mechanic received two smiles in response, Adora’s genuinely thankful, while Catra’s barely masked the fury at the dismissive way the man had spoken about her. She waited for him to return to the broken-down car, out of earshot, then made her complaints known in a hushed voice, “’Little friend?’ I swear to God, Adora, this guy is going to get punched.”

“Why? He seems nice enough,” she led them to the side of the truck and climbed up into the rear seat, turning back around to offer a hand to help Catra up after her, “And he’s taking us home.”

“He’s treating us like idiots because we’re women.”

Adora shook her head, talking more to herself than anyone else, “No, no… wait, is he? No. Really?”

When the car was connected up behind them, they sped off through the countryside to return towards Brightmoon. Catra was still rather aggrieved by the mechanic’s attitude, but Adora seemed fine, striking up a conversation about cars and how to maintain them – something the day’s events had told her she needed a lot more knowledge about. That lasted most of the journey, but as the truck went from country road to urban streets, that topic of conversation fizzled out, and their driver took the opportunity to get a little more personal.

“So, you both from around here?”

“I am,” Adora was quick to answer, despite Catra not even trying to get involved in the discussion, “But she’s just on holiday – come to soak up some sun and work on her tan.”

He chuckled, glancing back briefly, “I must say you’ve done a bang-up job with it. You’ve got lovely skin.”

That was doing little to change Catra’s opinion of the mechanic, and she shot a look of fury towards Adora which was mostly intended to let off a little steam so that she didn’t try and strangle the man in his seat. It wasn’t a compliment when it came from a skeevy stranger.

“She does,” Adora agreed, “It’s beautiful.”

_Dammit Adora, did you have to say that NOW?!_

The remainder of the ride back for Catra was spent mostly biting her tongue so as not to make a scene. Both she and Adora were bombarded with praise over the way they looked, or things they said or did, and it was on the verge of turning from uncomfortable to scary. Thankfully, the truck came to a stop at the kerbside in front of a repair shop, Catra’s door being opened as soon as she could do so. She jumped down, moving around to the other side where the mechanic and Adora were talking.

“They’ll take it from here, my love. And, uh, listen,” he glanced around, then took a scrap of paper from his trouser pocket, offering it up to Adora, “I’m not supposed to do this but if you ever wanted to get a drink or anything, um… here’s my number.”

Adora stared at the paper, processing the implication of his words, “Oh, uh… This is flattering but I’m… I’m gay.”

“Oh…” his gaze darted between the two young women as the realisation hit him, “Oh, gosh, I’m so… I’m sorry, I didn’t realise… You’re… you two make a cute couple.”

Both girls froze like rabbits caught in headlights, floored by the mechanic’s assumption. Catra prayed that Adora would say something in response – if she opened her own mouth right now, all that would come out would be enthusiastic agreement, bordering on begging. There was also something rather validating about someone, a stranger, saying it about them, even if he was a bit of an asshole.

_We make the best couple… we’re just not one. Yet._

“Did I…” he quickly picked up on the awkward atmosphere, “Oh, you’re not? I’m… Know what? I’m just gonna go. It’s been lovely talking to you both, I hope you get your car fixed quickly and that I can find a suitably large rock to hide under. Bye.”

Though the man’s rapid departure took him quickly away from the two girls, his words remained heavy in the air between them. They exchanged a look that did little to communicate to the other their actual feelings on what he’d said, serving only to underscore the uncomfortable silence.

Adora was the first who dared speak, her tone shaky and hesitant, “It’s, uh, it’s not far to your aunt’s house from here. I can get a cab home.”

_So you’re just going to completely ignore it? Laugh about it, tell me it’s what you want more than anything, tell me there’s no way it will ever happen… I don’t care, I just want to know how you feel._

That was what Catra wanted to say. She wanted to finally have the nerve to look Adora in the eye and ask her if she could kiss her. She wanted to drum up the bravery to ask directly if Adora felt the way she did; if she craved Catra’s touch as much as Catra craved hers. But her courage deserted her, and all she could do was mumble an “Okay” and give a nervous wave before sprinting out of the garage.

_Come on, Catra, just have the balls to tell her._

“Maybe tomorrow,” she told herself.


End file.
